


Side Character

by technofantasia



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: 80s Sci-fi B-Movies, Anxiety, Brotherly Love, Donnie is also insecure but this isn't about him, Fictional characters projecting onto other even more fictional characters, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Intense discussion about fictional movies, Late Night Conversations, Leo is insecure, Raph only shows up at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28614744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/technofantasia/pseuds/technofantasia
Summary: Leo sits down late at night to re-watch one of his all-time favorite movies, the brilliant action-fest that is Jupiter Jim's Battle for Uraniumville 3!Watching it again now, though, with the experience of one-and-a-half-or-maybe-two years under his belt (and the craziest one-and-a-half-or-maybe-two years of his life, at that), he's a bit startled to realize that it isn't quite as comforting as he remembers. He's noticing some things about it he never noticed before, like, well…Well. The fact that it seems kind of bad, and it's suddenly really hard to like it.
Relationships: Donatello & Leonardo (TMNT)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 81





	Side Character

**Author's Note:**

> Okay I'm sick of staring at this so here it is
> 
> This was supposed to be for the tumblr saverottmnt gift exchange, but accidentally took way too long!! I hope it's good enough to make up for the time spent on it,,, ;-;
> 
> The prompt I used for this was "Leo tells his brothers about his insecurities".

_It was supposed to be just a routine rest stop on their way to the Quantum Nebula._

_Evidently, fate had other plans._

_Jupiter Jim struck out with a leg, heroically sweeping three of his adversaries to the ground, before firing his blaster into the dense cloud of enemies in front of them to clear an escape route through the hallway of the station. "Red Fox, quickly, to the ship! We need to find whoever caused this before they gain control over the power grid of the entire sector!"_

_"On it!" barked Red, ever the trusty sidekick, as she deftly wove her way over and under blaster fire toward their prized travel ship, the S.S. Starbolt, resting in the docking bay amongst the chaos. Quick as a laser, she shot through the opposition as fast as she could. There was no time to waste!_

_Despite her efforts, the bay doors locked meters in front of her, blocking her path, and she was quickly surrounded by the dreaded Reptilians. "Just give up, mammal sssscum! It'ssss over! Sssssoon, the Alta Ssssector will belong to PLANET REPTILIA!" hissed the evident leader of the pack._

_The situation looked bleak. As the threat closed in, it was all Red Fox could do to pray for a savior. "Captain! Help!!"_

_WHAM! Suddenly, there was a sound like rockets firing, and the crowd of adversaries started falling like bowling pins. Lights shone, explosives went off, screams sounded off the walls; Red ducked in an attempt to avoid whatever was happening and coughed from the resulting cloud of dust and smoke. When she looked up, she saw through the haze…_

_"Well, I'm no Little Jay, but I hope I can do just as well, honey."_

_Red gasped. "Atomic Lass!"_

_Atomic Lass winked. "Long time no see, Red! Now, where has our Little Jay gone off to this time? We have some matters to discuss."_

_With her rocket hammer in hand, standing over piles of defeated Reptilians, she looked downright dazzling._

_And behind her, standing far away from the action and still halfway shrouded in smoke, was Atomic Lad._

—

Leo idly shoves another fistful of popcorn in his mouth, tired eyes glued to the projector screen, unwilling to miss a second of the action.

It's not that he doesn't know exactly what's going to happen, of course; he's seen _Jupiter Jim's Battle for Uraniumville 3_ countless times. It's one of his favorites, actually! It was one of the first JJ films they added to their collection, back when he was six or seven. They found it in the bargain bin of a corner store for a cool twenty-five cents. They may have been dirt poor kids with no income to speak of, but that was doable, even for them! They just had to be a little tricky about buying it without being seen. Well, okay, they were seen immediately, but thankfully store clerks don't pay much attention to kids being weird. Even if part of that weirdness is being green and clearly a couple of mutant turtles. To be fair, though, in hindsight, it _was_ New York City. They'd probably seen weirder.

Anyway.

It wasn't the _first_ one they watched, that would be _Jupiter Jim's Last Trip to the Moon 2_ , but it _was_ the first one all four of them loved. It had action, drama, comedy, and writing tight enough to hook each of them on the franchise forever! Lots of good memories packed into the hour-and-a-half runtime. Every time he sees it, he's reminded of night after night with him sitting in exactly this spot at various ages, laughing and joking and playing with his family.

That's the reason he's watching it now, really.

On screen, Atomic Lass hacks into the door systems of the space station, allowing the team to get through to the docking bay.

Along with being one of the first films in the Jupiter Jim franchise they saw, it was the very first one they saw featuring Atomic Lass. After watching it, Donnie wouldn't shut up about how cool she was for _months;_ she was almost certainly ninety percent of the reason he liked it so much. Leo can't really blame him, though; even though BFU3 was far from Atomic Lass's first appearance, in Leo's humble opinion (and anyone with taste's), it's absolutely her best. Her personality is just _electric_ , carrying the film from start to finish! Leo himself will always be a JJ stan, but he holds a healthy love in him for all the characters in the extended universe. Actually, though, his favorite character in this particular installment was always…

Jupiter Jim's rejoined the group by this point, and they've made it back to the S.S. Starbolt in one piece. Red Fox goes to program the ship's hyperjump trajectory while Atomic Lass explains to Jupiter Jim what's been happening back in Uraniumville and, subsequently, the cause for all the madness that's been going on.

…Well, at least it always _used_ to be…

Leo feels a slight sinking feeling in his stomach.

…Actually, it doesn't really matter who his favorite character used to be, right? People change, their appetites for fiction grow more sophisticated, yadda yadda. He was so young when he first watched this movie, it'd actually be weird if he still liked it exactly the same way as he did back then!

The living room is dark, the only light coming from the projector screen and the soft glow of distant stars twinkling through the skylight overhead. He pulls his blanket around him closer.

Yeah… who his favorite character is or isn't doesn't matter at all. He's doing this to calm down, right? Relax with an old favorite flick? No need to think about depressing stuff like that, it totally defeats the purpose!

Just don't think about it. Don't think.

(Because he's always been _great_ at that.)

Feeling the familiar sensation of nervous energy welling up inside him again, Leo panickedly chews on another few kernels of popcorn and returns his attention to the screen. He's missed a few scenes; he must've been zoning out for a while. Well, it's okay. Not like he doesn't know what happens, he thinks again with a tinge of anxiety.

His eyelids are so heavy. He doesn't look away.

Leo's so focused on refocusing on the movie that he doesn't hear the sound of plodding footsteps entering the room.

"BFU3, huh? A classic! Good pick," Donnie says, resting his elbows casually on the top of the recliner.

Leo jumps hard enough that he chokes on his snack.

A few seconds of panicked throat clearing ensue.

"…You okay?" Donnie asks hesitantly after the coughing fit has calmed down.

Leo gives him a flat look. "Yeah, sure. You could've warned a guy, though!"

"Oh, come on, it's not like I was sneaking up on you or anything." Donnie steps around the chair and sits himself down on the ground next to it.

"If we're ninjas, isn't everything we do supposed to be sneaky?"

"…No? That's not how that works."

Leo hums in fake contemplation. "You're sure? Because _I'm_ pretty sure ninjas are supposed to be sneaky. It's part of the definition. Duh."

"Well, yeah, they're supposed to be sneaky when they're _trying_ to be, but I wasn't—why do I have to explain this to you?!"

"Maybe you're just a bad ninja, then! You should try harder."

"I don't… _groan_ , whatever." Donnie shoots a look at Leo before reaching up to steal a handful of popcorn. Leo squawks in protest, but doesn't stop him. "You know, by that logic, I just snuck up on you when I _wasn't_ trying, so that would make me a _good_ ninja, actually. Check and mate."

"Don't use technobabble on me, it's too late for that."

"One, I resent the use of the term 'technobabble' to refer to my totally legitimate and enthralling science explanations, and two, that's not even science, that's _chess._ "

"Whatever, po-tay-to po-tah-to."

"It's really not. Oh, wait, hang on, I love this part! Shh!"

Donnie puts a finger up to Leo's lips to shush him and direct his attention back to the screen.

The crew of the S.S. Starbolt is making their way through a field of enemy ships, and it looks as though there's no way they'll be able to get out unscathed. "Don't worry, team! I have an idea!" exclaims Atomic Lad, his universal control-o-gadget in hand.

With it, he sends out an electromagnetic pulse to shut off the power to every ship in the area, effectively disabling every enemy system; however, he forgot to account for the fact the pulse would strand their own ship as well. Thus, it's up to the rest of the team to figure out how to get their ship out of harm's way. Together, they devise a plan to use the power of an enemy reactor explosion to charge another hyperjump into more friendly space.

"Okay, okay, here it is— 'You're calling me overconfident? It's not overconfidence if you have the skill to back it up, kid.' _Oh_ what a _fantastic_ line! One of Atomic Lass's best performances, and that is _saying_ something. This movie is something else. Why didn't you say you were starting it up?! Jumping in in the middle is _far_ from the optimal watching experience! I can't _possibly_ appreciate this scene properly without having previously viewed the majesty that is my muse's entrance to the space station brawl."

Leo rolls his eyes at his brother's theatrics. While this is actually pretty common and normally he'd join right along, it's just not that kind of night. Wrong vibe. "I thought you went to sleep hours ago. Actually, why _are_ you up? It's pretty late, you know. Evil scientists need their beauty sleep."

Donnie scoffs. "Me, going to sleep earlier than sunrise? Surely you jest!" A chuckle. "No, but seriously, I had some stuff I needed to finish up while I still had the inspiration. I was just going to the kitchen to get a little something before bed, actually. What are _you_ doing up, huh? Suspicious glare."

" _Aaaah_ , the dreaded Uno reverse card!" Leo gasps dramatically. "How could I be betrayed like this by my own brother?!"

"Oh, come on, this was foreshadowed for _at least_ two seasons."

Leo blows a playful raspberry in Donnie's direction. "Jerk. But, yeah, I just got the sudden urge for some good ol' classic JJ action, y'know? Happens sometimes."

"True!"

"Also, I mean, it's just been a while since I've seen it. Why not, right?"

Donnie shifts so he's leaning against Leo's legs. "Huh, you're right. Last time we watched it must have been… what, around a year and a half ago? Two years?"

" _Way_ too long," Leo declares. Donnie hums in agreement.

After that, they quiet down and decide to just watch for a while. The experience is much more subdued than it usually is; no yelling or jumping around or spouting jokes or lines or any of that. Just sitting in silence with the occasional interruption of his brother continuing to steal from his popcorn bowl. It must be because of how tired they both are.

Leo didn't really want company, but… this is okay. Manageable. Comfortable, even!

If only he could say the same for the rest of the experience.

He wasn't lying when he said he queued this up on a whim, even though it felt like a lie saying it. It really is just that he hasn't seen it in a while! Too long. It always used to be his comfort movie, so that kind of gap of time between viewings is just unbelievable.

Being kept awake by that sinking feeling of inadequacy that curls in his gut when he's at his lowest isn't anything new to him. It happens… maybe a little bit more than it used to, now? But he's been finding new ways of dealing with it, so it's okay! Reading comics in dim light until his eyes feel too tired to open is a common one. Another is mumbling soft reassurances to himself until his voice gives out, though that one comes with the annoying side effect of making his throat feel awful in the morning. Tonight was just particularly bad, after the absolute _failure_ of a mission that was the previous day, and he felt that something different would be a nice change of pace. What better change of pace than the brilliant action-fest that is BFU3?

…Though, watching it now, with the experience of one-and-a-half-or-maybe-two years under his belt (and the craziest one-and-a-half-or-maybe-two years of his _life_ , at that), he's a bit startled to realize that it isn't quite as comforting as he remembers. He's noticing some things about it he never noticed before, like, well…

Well. The fact that it seems kind of bad, and it's suddenly really hard to like it.

JJ films are _always_ cheesy, that's just a fact of life. What else could you expect from low budget sci-fi made in the mid-20th century? They're cheesy, and wacky, and Leo _loves_ cheesy and wacky, he really does! But he's only now noticing that this film in particular is maybe a little bit _too_ cheesy and wacky. Even though it's obviously trying to be a cool, epic adventure, half the lines are just lame jokes that ruin the atmosphere, and that's not even _mentioning_ how the plot is completely unbelievable, and all because of how weirdly annoying…

…Anyway. It's a little distressing, which is the opposite of being comforting, which is the opposite of the point of this exercise. He _would_ just leave and try something else to lull his traitorous mind and body to sleep, but now Donnie is here, so he can't just get up and go for no reason, and also he kind of doesn't want to admit that this movie might be ruined for him now, so he'll tough it out. All he needs is a little bit of positivity and he'll be fine! This is all only because he's feeling down in the dumps, after all.

Onscreen, Jupiter Jim comes up with a brilliant plan on the spot to get them out of harm's way again.

Just. A little bit of positivity.

Atomic Lass jumps into the fray and singlehandedly takes down a squadron of Reptilians.

Positivity! It's practically his middle name! There's nothing to be upset over. This is exactly as it's always been, not a scene has been changed. Every time he's ever watched it, it's been like this. The idea that he could somehow just be noticing he doesn't like it now when he's already so familiar with it is ridiculous.

Red Fox gets separated from the group, but comes back later having obtained important information about Reptilia's plans for Uraniumville.

It's not like he doesn't know what happens. He's seen this movie countless times.

Atomic Lad accidentally sends out a beacon that reveals the location of Jupiter Jim's secret hideout to the entire Reptilian Army.

_"Leo, could you stop messing around and be helpful for, like, two seconds?!"_

He grabs the remote and hits the pause button.

The reaction to this is, of course, instantaneous. "Hey, what gives? This is one of the best parts! You can't just pause in the middle of the action!" Donnie complains up at him, fixing him with an annoyed glare.

Leo's mouth feels dry, but he swallows and makes a valiant attempt to sound normal anyway. "Oh, come on, you've seen this movie like a million times! You know what happens."

"Well, sure, but that doesn't mean it's not still suspenseful."

Leo feels something stir in him at the words.

"Yeah, _suspenseful,_ " he replies bitterly. "Atomic Lad gets everyone in trouble for the tenth time, everyone else is forced to deal with it, and then when it's over and done with, they for some reason decide to keep him around even though later he's going to get them in _yet another mess_! Wow, what a _gripping_ story."

"…I guess that's a way of putting it? A bit harsh, though. There's way more to the story than that! The invasion is the main conflict of the film, and Atomic Lad has nothing to do with _that_. He does cause a lot of the problems in the initial getting there, yeah, but there's a story reason for that, so."

"Okay, he didn't _cause_ the invasion, but basically all the frustrating, unnecessary side problems are his fault. It's like, oh, you think they're going to finally get a chance to kick the Reptilians' tails? Nope! Atomic Lad is here to ruin the day and make everything harder for everyone! It's _so_ irritating."

Donnie raises an eyebrow. "I mean… kind of? That's not really…"

"Actually, you know what? The plot of this entire film is just 'Atomic Lad causes problems constantly and yet nobody does anything about it'! How have I never seen that before?" he continues, ramping up more and more with every word. "God, he's so _annoying,_ too. Why is he even part of the cast?! He's just frolicking around in the background like 'oooh, I'm so cool, I'm so smart' while everyone else actually _does_ stuff, and then when the time comes for him to actually do something, he indubitably messes it up!! I mean, come on!"

"You seem to be getting weirdly intense about this—wait, 'indubitably'?"

Leo doesn't slow down. "Like, why even keep him around? Why write him in if he's going to spend the entire time messing around and not being helpful?! Like, the entire team is made up of such amazingly talented, inspirational people. You have Jupiter Jim as the unstoppable ultimate leader who can do anything, and Red Fox as the most loyal and reliable team member that can carry out any task perfectly, and Atomic Lass as the ultra-skilled awesome supergenius who can solve any problem… and then you have _Atomic Lad_ , whose skill is, what? Being like all the others, but worse? Being an overconfident jerk? Getting the others in hot water, like, all the time?! He's so _pointless!_ "

"…Hey, uh, Leo? Are you—"

"I can't believe I used to _like_ this movie!! Yeah, maybe some of the action is cool, but all of it is ruined by this big lump of annoying, useless _nothing_ sitting around and soaking up all the screentime! He's always talking about how he has a 'plan', and how he has 'everything under control', but he _doesn't_ and the fact that he keeps saying he does actively makes things worse for everyone else! Why would you trust someone who's only trustworthy, like, twenty percent of the time max?!"

_"Oh, wow, one of Leo's portals didn't work, we all totally expected."_

_"Could someone please tell my son I'M NOT TALKING TO HIM?!"_

At some point Donnie must have stood up, because now he's standing in front of Leo, looking really concerned for some reason he can't fathom. Nothing's wrong. "You know, it really doesn't sound like you're talking about—"

_"You're such a sore winner."_

_"Shut up and pay attention!"_

_"Ugh, seriously, Leo?!"_

His throat is starting to feel sore now, which is weird, because he didn't even _do_ his mumbling thing tonight, and his eyes are stinging, but he can't pay attention to any of that because "Why do the others put _UP_ with him?! They'd be so much better off if he weren't around!! At least they'd be able to actually get things done without him, because they're all amazing and he's pulling them down. They don't need him! But…

Me?

_I'm nothing without them!"_

"Wait, wait, wait. You're _what_?"

Freeze.

Like a deer in headlights, Leo suddenly looks up to realize that, no, he isn't actually alone.

Donnie's gone from looking vaguely concerned at him to full on shell-shocked. "Leo, what are you _talking_ about?"

…Oops.

"I…" He starts, unsure of where he's going. "Well, I just… I, um…"

He fidgets uncomfortably in his seat, all the anger and indignation he felt just seconds ago draining from him like a plug being pulled. Without it, he just feels kind of hollow.

That was… he doesn't even know _what_ that was. It was like he totally lost control of himself for a couple minutes there! Even now, he's having trouble reigning his breathing in and he can feel himself close to tears. What _happened_? Why is he getting so _upset_ over this? It's a movie! He can get as serious over JJ movies as the next low budget sci-fi superfan, but _crying_ over it seems a bit excessive. So it seems less good now that he's older, big whoop! He has no clue where this overreaction could have possibly come from. Nope. None at all.

_The feeling of helplessness weighing down on him, suffocating him with the knowledge that he alone could never be good enough. Not for this, not for anything. Of course this was always going to end in failure, if he was the one doing it; it always does._

…Or, maybe he does know, somewhere deep in his heart of hearts. Just maybe. But Leo is nothing if not a master of all things, one of said things being denial, so…

Deny he will.

"He's… nothing! Without them. That's what I said. Atomic Lad."

"…What? No, it wasn't!" Donnie shoots back, glaring at him. "You very clearly used the word 'I' just then."

"Whaaat? You must have just misheard me. Do you need to get your hearing checked? That seems like a pretty weird thing to get mixed up, D! If you ask me, you—"

"Leo, oh my _gosh,_ would you _slow down_ for, like, two seconds?!" Donnie places both his hands on Leo's shoulders firmly, anchoring him to his seat. "I'm trying to be properly worried about you, here, but you're making the process unnecessarily difficult!"

Leo rolls his eyes. "Worried? Over what?"

"Okay, you can't possibly be serious right now."

"Serious as the constellation, bro. I'm fine! Just a little worked up over subpar cinema. It happens sometimes."

"Sirius is a star, not a constellation, but that's beside the point! _Why_ is this making you… so…" Donnie looks at him again and trails off, seemingly rethinking something, before taking a deep breath and speaking up again. "…Why the sudden out-of-character hot take? I mean, I have my own problems with Atomic Lad, but wasn't he your favorite in this one?"

Leo blinks at the change in tone, but feels stark relief at the topic shift. "Well, yeah, he used to be. I guess I'm just realizing for the first time that my taste as a kid must not have been that great, you know? I always thought that Atomic Lad was so cool with his gadgets and confidence and stuff, but watching it now, he really just seems like the weak link. Plus, he's not even likable! The fact he's the focus of so much of the movie makes the whole thing worse. He's a dumb side character at best. Why not put the focus on the main characters instead, right? It just doesn't make sense!"

"Huh?" Donnie looks confused. "But… he _is_ the main character."

"…What? You sure we're watching the same movie, here?"

"I don't know, are we?" Donnie rolls his eyes. "The entire story is about how Atomic Lad is a powerful member of the team, but he keeps trying to do things to show off in order to prove it. In the end, he learns that he doesn't need to prove anything to the team, because they all respect him anyway. And then he blows up a bunch of aliens. Aaaand that's the end of the movie! Like, really. The plot revolves around him, he's the main character."

_That's not true._

"Well, sure, I guess when you put it that way…" Leo shrugs in a way he hopes comes off as nonchalant. "But it's still a chore to sit through all his painful one-liners and boasts and all that. If he's the main character, he's a pretty bad one."

"…I like his one-liners." Donnie looks away suspiciously.

Leo glares at him. "No, you don't! You complain about them every time!"

"Okay, fine, I like _some_ of his one-liners. Secretly." He coughs. "No, but really, they're actually pretty fun in context! Even when they're horrendous, or he's being obnoxious, he's still entertaining to have around, which is the point. Atomic Lad is like… _textbook_ likable. The most annoying part of him is how likable he is, if you ask me. And, trust me, it _is_ annoying. I am very annoyed by it. So, in conclusion, I have no idea where you're coming from."

Leo has to pause to take that in. Donnie's not… _wrong_ , exactly, but it still doesn't feel like he's right for some reason. Sure, Leo can remember thinking the exact same thing once upon a time, but now everything feels different and he just _knows_ Atomic Lad is the worst part of this movie. After all, whenever he's on screen, he gets this sinking feeling of inadequacy that curls in his gut and makes him feel like the most worthless person on Earth. That's not something that happens when a character is good, right? Donnie _has_ to know that. All Leo needs to do is prove it.

And yet, when he opens his mouth, nothing comes out.

"I…" He starts, aimlessly.

After a moment passes and Leo continues saying nothing, Donnie speaks up. "Loathe as I am to admit it, you always had pretty good taste. You know, for movies and stuff. Minus a couple things. So, even though Atomic Lass is _clearly_ the best character here, I guess I can agree with your younger self that Atomic Lad can share first place for this one, very specific movie. You should listen to younger you more."

_The feeling of happiness, sitting together in front of the screen. Everyone's joking around and having a good time. He makes a joke. Everyone laughs._

Leo feels something inside himself start to uncurl. All of a sudden, it feels like he can breathe again.

"…You know what? Maybe you're right."

Donnie smirks and sits down on the arm of the chair. "I always am."

"You know, about me being right, that is. You are absolutely right about the fact that I have good taste."

"Ugh. Really?" Donnie scoffs. "I swear, every time! I give you a centimeter and you take a kilometer."

"Did you really just change that phrase to metric for no reason?" Leo laughs, shoving his side lightly. "Nerd."

Donnie makes an affronted noise. "I'll have you know that metric is better than imperial measurement in every way, in every context! Especially science."

"This isn't science, it's talking. You know? The thing where you make your lips flap to communicate with other people? I know you know the lip flapping part, but I feel like you might be a little confused about the communication bit."

"Everything is science, shut up."

"Stilllll not disproving the nerd comment."

"'Nerd' isn't an insult nowadays, stereotypical bully from an 80's high school sitcom. Get some new material."

"Okay, fine, I stand corrected. You're not a nerd, you're just weird."

At this, Donnie sticks his tongue out in Leo's direction. Leo returns the gesture in kind, and they both chuckle, enjoying the moment.

With that, they lapse into a bout of silence. Donnie, still perched on the chair next to Leo, leans over onto his shoulder. It's comfortable; more comfortable than Leo's been all night.

More comfortable than Leo's been in a long time, if he's being totally honest with himself.

They stay like that for a while, Leo can't tell how long, before Donnie speaks up again, voice quiet.

"…I didn't know you felt—"

" _Don't_."

He stops.

"Don't… just, don't say it," Leo pleads. His voice cracks slightly on the words. "That'll make it real."

The only sound is that of water dripping off pipes and the hum of the projector, still displaying a paused action scene. Onscreen, the valiant crew of the S.S. Starbolt is fighting amongst the stars; above them, through the skylight of their living room, the stars still twinkle distantly.

Donnie looks up at him, uncharacteristically soft.

"But… it _is_ real."

Leo doesn't respond.

"…You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah."

"And I assume it's mutual?"

"Yeah."

"So… If I stopped being a genius—I know, an impossible world to imagine, but bear with me—would you think I was useless and get rid of me?"

A pause.

"Well, I couldn't get rid of you even if I wanted to. Raph wouldn't let me."

"Oh, _please_. Come on. Real answer."

Leo can think of a number of real answers to that question. No, of course not. Never. Don't even joke about that. You could never be useless. I'll always need you.

What he says is:

"Really? Uno reverse card, again? Double betrayal! That's just not fair."

Donnie snorts.

—

Raph wakes up to the sound of his alarm clock.

Well, okay, it's not _actually_ an alarm clock, it's the alarm app on his phone. Who actually uses alarm clocks anymore? But there are certain things you just have to do in order to have a proper morning, and waking up bright and early to the sound of an alarm clock is one of them. Using precise words is important! It sets a precedent.

Anyway, Raph wakes up, picks up his phone to silence the alarm, and checks the time. It takes a moment for his sleepy eyes to properly adjust to the light, but soon enough, he's able to relax his squint and see the display. It's seven AM on the dot.

Waking up early: great in theory, not quite as great in practice. Ah, well. To conquer your enemy, you must first conquer yourself! Or… something like that.

With the usual amount of moaning and groaning, he gets up and starts getting ready for the day. Once he's done getting dressed (or as dressed as any of them ever get, anyway), he leaves his room to make his morning pilgrimage to the bathroom. As he does, he notices a few things.

Donnie's bed is empty. That's not unusual, but it _is_ a bit frustrating; most likely he was up late last night in his lab "just finishing up some stuff" and ended up crashing on his lab bench sometime before sunrise. He's done that _countless_ times before, and each time he ends up cranky and sore by the time morning practice rolls around. Most of the time Raph will let him sleep through it, Donnie could certainly use the rest, but then he's running on a different schedule from everyone else, and… blegh. Just a bad situation all around. Raph makes a mental note to talk to him about it again, but he doubts it'll have any effect. Donnie can be stubborn as a brick wall sometimes.

He hopes Donnie at least took off his battle shell before passing out, though. He swears, the guy's going to end up with chronic back pain before he hits twenty.

Somewhat more troublingly, Leo's bed is also empty. That's… also not unusual, all things considered, but Raph has to wonder what caused last night's bout of insomnia wanderings. Was it about yesterday's mission? Leo always takes that kind of stuff way too hard for whatever reason… he'll almost certainly be up and cheery by practice time, but Raph really hopes he got enough sleep. It's impossible to tell just by looking at him, and Leo would sooner chew his own arm off than admit to not being at one-hundred percent.

Well… what'll happen will happen! It'll be fine.

He continues his morning routine with as much energy as he can manage. Soon enough, he's heading towards the kitchen in order to get some breakfast in him. It's the most important meal of the day, after all! Sure, it's probably more important to eat something more nutritious than sugar cereal, but whatever. You can't win 'em all.

As he enters the living room, though, he gets a little distracted from his journey.

The morning sun filters through the skylight above, bathing the entire room in a soft glow; in that light, he can see that he's not alone. Slumped side-by-side in the recliner seat, slumbering away, are Donnie and Leo. A bowl of what must have been popcorn lies discarded on the floor. The projector beside them is still gently humming, throwing the faint image of some main menu screen up on the far wall.

Ah, he thinks, relieved. There they are!

(He notes that he can see Donnie's bare shell. That's good.)

Careful not to make too much noise (though neither of the two are particularly light sleepers), he takes a small detour to clean up. He picks up the nearly-empty bowl and moves to turn off the projector. Obviously, whatever they were watching, they didn't manage to get to the end before falling asleep; curiously, he picks up the case next to the DVD player.

The well-worn snap case, covered in discount stickers, reads "Jupiter Jim's Battle for Uraniumville 3".

Oh come on, they watched BFU3 without him? How could they? It's a classic!

He huffs as quietly as he can manage and ejects the disk before shutting the machine off, ever-so-gently placing the beloved DVD back in its case. They'll probably need to clean the floor a bit later of the sticky popcorn residue, but that can wait; for now, he's going to put this movie back in its proper spot on the shelf, put the popcorn bowl in the sink to get washed later, and have himself a bowl of cereal. Proper morning, here Raph comes!

Before that, though, Raph takes another look at the DVD case. Gosh, this one is good. It's been so long since they've all watched it together! The last time must have been, what? A year and a half? Two years ago? Way too long. They _need_ to have a family movie night to watch it again sometime soon.

Or, hmm… why not tonight? It's not like they have much going on. They can invite April over and everything! That'd be fun.

He quickly shoots April a text so he doesn't forget.

He looks up from his phone and sees his brothers again, cuddling up against each other in their sleep. Aw, okay, now _that's_ adorable. He quickly takes a picture and sends that to April too.

…Actually, maybe he'll go get a blanket for them first; they look kind of cold. _Then_ he'll get his cereal.


End file.
